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It probably didn’t bother the Missouri men’s basketball team when 2003 ended and 2004 began.

Recent on-court struggles as well as an NCAA investigation of the program have made it a forgettable year for the No. 23 Tigers (4-4). The Tigers get a chance to begin anew, to some degree, when they host Iowa at 2 p.m. Saturday at Hearnes Center.

Bob Burchard, the Columbia College men’s basketball coach, and Mike Davis, the Cougars’ women’s coach, love to win and hate to lose, but this weekend’s second annual Coaches vs. Cancer Holiday Classic is about more than wins and losses.

Burchard and Davis started the Classic last season because of a common concern. They both knew friends, family members and Columbia College faculty members who with cancer.

Inside a locked glass case at the Walters-Boone County Historical Society Museum are a handwritten manuscript and two copies of “River-Horse: Across America by Boat,” author William Least Heat-Moon’s nautical account of how he retraced the 19th-century expedition by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark.

The case and the items in it, including two Ed Richardson watercolor studies used for the book’s cover,are the centerpieces of an exhibit called “The Missouri River: Exploration into Discovery.” The exhibit, which opened in mid-November, is part of an effort to generate interest in a pavilion being constructed on the north side of the historical society’s facilities on Ponderosa Street.

Horse-drawn carriages roamed the streets and music could be heard from the sidewalks as Columbians walked among 12 downdown venues at First Night 2004.

At the Missouri United Methodist Church, children danced while fiddlers played. One youngster ran frantically back to his parents worried that there were no other partners he could take to dance with him. Meanwhile, the other children promenaded round and round.

New housing developments and commercial activity popped up all over Columbia in 2003, forcing city officials to come up with ways to keep up with the city’s rapid growth. The same challenges face the city as it moves into 2004, said City Manager Ray Beck.

The Tigers had watched film. They had reviewed scouting reports. They had practiced hard, but despite the preparatory homework, the Tigers were a confused bunch after their disappointing 71-67 home loss to the Bruins on Tuesday night.

1 The Missouri defense has to flush Arkansas quarterback Ryan Sorahan out of the pocket and keep quarterback Matt Jones in it. Sorahan has a strong arm and Jones excels with his legs.

Sorahan was able to stand in and complete all three passes he attempted in his one series, and Jones was able to get out and run. Jones gained 74 yards on seven carries and was tough to bring down in the secondary.